The Last Thing I Remember (The Homelanders) [ペーパーバック]

The last thing Charlie West remembers is going to sleep after one of the best days of his life. That morning he wowed his high school classmates with a black belt demonstration at school, only to have the girl of his dreams write her phone number on his arm. Later in the day Sensei Mike encouraged Charlie to follow his dream of being an Air Force pilot, and even an argument with his friend Alex couldn't take away the buzz of an unforgettable day. Charlie falls asleep on top of the world only to wake up strapped to a chair battered, bruised, and bloody. As Charlie tries to make sense of the situation he soon discovers he is being held captive by men who want him dead. Using his black belt skills he finds a way to escape only to find out things are much worse than he could have ever imagined.

Edgar Award winner Andrew Klavan takes his first foray into young adult fiction with this riveting first installment of The Homelanders series. This is a fast paced thrill ride carried effortlessly along by the first person narrative of Charlie West. From the intriguing opening hook we are whisked along on an action packed jaunt that is full of twists and turns and is impossible to put down.

In the midst of the shootouts and riveting hand to hand combat scenes, Klavan builds character depth through Charlie's flashbacks of the last day he remembers. We soon find out that Charlie is not just a good kid, but someone that has a strong faith and a great love for his country. It's these solid foundations that help Charlie find the strength to face the overwhelming circumstances in front of him.

The Last Thing I Remember does everything the first book in a series should. It grabs our attention with a hero to root for and delivers a plot that will have readers begging for more in the end. Andrew Klavan gives action thriller fans a story they will love, laced with some powerful messages of honor, duty, and sacrifice. This is only the beginning for Charlie West and I can't wait to see what's in store next.

I finished "The Last Thing I Remember" the other day, and my stepdaughter finished it last night. (It speaks well for the book, no doubt, that she started it last night at bedtime and didn't go to sleep until she'd finished it!)

We both liked it -- the action was good, the premise was very interesting indeed. My stepdaughter felt that it was begging to be made into a movie -- which, given the bankruptcy of ideas currently reigning in Hollywood, seems a safe enough prediction.

She felt, however, that the book didn't have enough of a point to it. I disagreed on that -- a boy who suddenly finds himself in strange and dangerous circumstances, who must figure out who he is and what to do next, seemed a fine premise to me.

On the other hand, we both felt that the book leaves too many issues unresolved. (Why does our protagonist not remember ANYTHING of the past year?... we've seen nothing to even suggest how this could be possible. We get a brief glimpse of his parents reacting to his predicament, but not enough, and nothing at all from his Sensei; that didn't feel right either.) Granted, it's the first book in a series, but leaving such major issues unresolved makes the ending unsatisfying. Perhaps it would have been better to resolve the major issues, at least partially, and leave one or two minor questions as enticement to read the next one. As it is, I may read the next Homelanders book, hoping to figure out what happened -- but it'll be out of irritation, not excitement.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy TLTIR for the most part. Reading an adventure story with a center-right perspective was also refreshing; they don't seem to be thick on the ground these days. I found it a bit heavy-handed at times, but not annoyingly so. I did wonder when the protagonist had a crisis of conscience about himself, but never for a moment about his country (which seems to have dealt him a cruel hand); but perhaps that, too, will be explored more in later books in the series. The brief cameo appearance by Winston Churchill was great! -- I hope we see more of our hero's inspirations and role models, and how he is helped by them.

All in all, an enjoyable read. I'm encouraged to check out Mr. Klavan's other work. Keep 'em coming!

I bought this book as a gift to my grand-daughter so I took a Sunday afternoon and read it myself. It was a good read for a young person, full of suspense and held my attention through to the end. Which sometimes, if the book isn't good, I will just get up and leave it. I didn't have that problem with this book. The only disappointment was finding the sequel won't be out until next year. It's nice to be able to read a book without having to cringe at the language and message, especially when it is geared to our young people.